New lead’ in girl’s murder

10-year-old Holly Piirainen went missing in Hampdon County, Massachusetts 18 years ago.

Massive police searches and a leaflet campaign for the missing girl followed, hunters found her remains 2 months later. No arrests have ever been made in connection with the case.

Hampden County District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni will convene a press conference Tuesday to discuss the unsolved 1993 homicide of 10-year-old Holly Piirainen.

He will update the public on the status of the investigation, including recent forensic findings that have resulted in new investigative leads for the case.

“We’re very hopeful that this is what they need, what they finally need,” Holly’s father, Rick Piirainen, told the Herald yesterday. “We had met with them earlier this year, hoping they could put some pressure on to reinvigorate the case. It’s been 18 years already.”

UPDATE:

Investigators named David Pouliot, a Vietnam veteran who worked for a juvenile detention center, as a ‘person of interest’ in the disappearance of 10-year-old Holly Piirainen. Pouliot died in 2003. Investigators apparently found forensic evidence to link him to the crime, using modern techniques.